By Jody-Tuso Key

I find myself at a busy time of year when it comes to theater. On top of all the season openers, I also see many high school plays/musicals and adjudicate them for consideration to perform at Georgia Thescon. As a result, I don’t have time to write the in-depth reviews you are so used to. So this will be a RAPID REVIEW AND FOTOFLASH of the phenomenal play – THE HEART SELLERS at one of my favorite Atlanta Theaters. Right off the bat I must say BRAVO to the entire cast and crew – this entire production is truly Broadway Quality!! 

Story time: Those of you (like me) who are  old enough to remember 1973, ask yourselves what you remember? At the time, I was seven years old. My days were consumed with second grade and living in Colorado Springs with my mom, dad, and four sisters (I’m the baby). My dad used to watch stuff about a thing called “Watergate” on the CBS news with Walter Cronkite. I might have been in the living room with him,  pretending to be a dog or a horse, so I wasn’t really paying attention. He would pat my head, allow me to keep pretending, and once in a while point to the screen and say, ‘Look, Jody. This is important’, When certain stories came on. Other times he’d usher me out of the room when things got too graphic. ‘Go in the kitchen and play’, he’d say when he didn’t want me to see the images on the TV. This was our agreement. I could watch certain things and not others, and this was our arrangement.

As a result of this gentle parenting, I knew that our president, Richard Millhouse Nickson had done something bad, but I was too busy playing and reading my Peanuts books to pay complete attention. The more time went on, the more Watergate became a household word. Mom, dad, and my sister, Ann would discuss it at the dinner table (I remember them being most knowledgeable) and I would retreat into my imagination because I didn’t really understand it and was too little to care. I would eat fast, ask to be excused, and go outside and play with my rabbit, Snowball.  After hearing about Watergate for weeks on end, I finally asked my family what it was about. My mom, dad, and especially Ann would try to explain it to me in terms I could understand. Dad always taught me to see all sides of a story, so he would tell me the Democrat and Republican point of view. 

Similar to politics today, Watergate divided the nation. Democrats and Republicans felt certain ways about Nixon, but unlike today there was an old adage – the two things you didn’t discuss in mixed company were politics and religion, so everybody got along a whole lot better and didn’t just listen to like-minded people in an echo chamber. Having said that, when people met new friends 1:1, they would feel each other out, get to know each other, find out they were like-minded, and become lifelong allies. Think of it in today’s terms as “talking” on a DM to someone on a dating app. 

That’s what HEART SELLERS is about. Two newlywed women, one Korean, one Phillipino. Both new to US—young wives who followed their husbands to the USA to support these men in their dream of being doctors. Both were striving to be the perfect American wife, and polar opposites personality wise. One is fun, outgoing, and gregarious. The other one is reserved, but does know how to have fun and turns out to be a loyal friend. 

The premise of the show is that the gregarious one attempts to make the perfect  Thanksgiving dinner for her husband. She brings a reluctant friend she’s just met to her NYC studio apartment. What ensues is discovery into a deep understanding of not only what each other has common but the complex issues of America in 1973.

I’m going to be honest, I haven’t seen a play this good since the Chinese Lady at Alliance with Keiko Agena and Rex Lee, and  it’s no wonder, because they’re both written by the same talented author, Lloyd Suh.

It’s no wonder Heart Sellers is Broadway quality.

Like white and red wine, Horizon paired Boston based Janine Florence Jacinto of Filipino/Chinese descent (a NYC Public Theater actor)  with one of Atlanta’s locals; multitalented Michele Pokopac—a Korean/Yugoslavian descent Columbus State graduate. Then, like the perfect amount of herbs and spices, director Michelle Chan added the same magic touch as Horizon did to Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet,  as well as every show they produce. Not to mention they are a Shubert Foundation Regional Theater, so the space itself has that intimate Broadway feel. 

If you’re not familiar with Horizon’s work, make yourself familiar; You’ll be glad you did! If you’re already a Horizon veteran and haven’t gotten yourself to the show, get off your patootie and get there. Hurry up because only runs through Oct 10-9 and I guarantee you, when the reviews start rolling in, this show is going to be sold out. This show is a Speakeasy, HOT TICKET,  the highest honor I bestow. So run, don’t walk aka click https://www.horizontheatre.com/ and get your tickets. 

Thanks for reading and as always, peace be with you.

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